Best Internet Providers in Chicago, Illinois

What is the best internet provider in Chicago?

AT&T Fiber is the best internet service provider for most households in Chicago due to its symmetrical speeds and simple pricing. However, AT&T Fiber doesn't currently service all Chicago addresses, so we recommend checking out Rise Broadband, Verizon 5G Home Internet and Xfinity for residential broadband.

We've also found the lowest prices and the fastest speeds for Chicagoans. Xfinity and Astound Broadband tie for the cheapest service in the Windy City, both offering base plans for $20. However, Astound is a better deal, offering download speeds of up to 300 megabits per second versus Xfinity's 150Mbps.

For those with a need for speed, the fastest available internet speed you'll find in the area is offered by AT&T Fiber. For $250 a month, you can get up to 5,000Mbps of download speed with no data caps or required contracts.

Best internet in Chicago, Illinois

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Chicago

Air Wans: Air Wans is a folksy fixed wireless provider servicing the rural areas of Illinois and Indiana surrounding Chicago. Pricing ranges from $50 to $100 a month with no contracts, data caps, throttling, or price increases after the first year. The rub is that Air Wans speeds are some of the slowest you'll find, ranging from just 3 to 15Mbps with the downloads and uploads aggregated together.

Astound Broadband: Astound boasts strong pricing during the first two years of service. However, monthly rates on all four of the plans offered to Chicagoans can shoot up by well over $100 after the introductory period, and you can expect to pay additional fees on top of that, including an arbitrary monthly network access fee of $7 that isn't included in your base rate.

Google Fiber Webpass: Some buildings throughout the greater Chicago area are wired for Google Fiber Webpass, which uses a fixed wireless antenna to offer high-speed connections to the internet. Gigabit speeds are possible via Webpass, but actual speeds depend on the specific address in question. The service costs $63 a month for a yearly plan or $70 a month for a month-to-month plan with no commitment. You can search for serviceable buildings on Google's Webpass map.

Satellite internet: A satellite internet connection uses a receiver dish mounted outside your home to connect with satellites orbiting overhead to get you online. You'll find service available from Hughesnet, Viasat and perhaps Starlink. But in most cases, the prices are too high, the speeds too slow and the data caps too restrictive compared to other Chicago internet options. It's only worth considering if you lack other alternatives, and for most of Chicago, that won't be the case.

T-Mobile Home Internet: Like Verizon, T-Mobile now offers cellular home internet service in hundreds of cities nationwide, including Chicago. You'll simply plug in a cellular modem that gets its signals not from wires in the wall, but over the 5G and LTE airwaves, like your phone. T-Mobile offers just one plan at $60 a month, and speeds will range from 72 to 245Mbps in most homes with a strong enough signal to sign up. There are no data caps or contracts to worry about, and your price won't arbitrarily rise after 12 months, either.

Cheap internet options in Chicago

You won't need to pay more than $20 a month if you're looking for the most affordable internet plan at your Chicago address. The Connect plan from Xfinity is a decent consolation available almost everywhere, with download speeds of 150Mbps and upload speeds of 10Mbps for $20 a month. But in the Chicago area overall, the Astound Broadband 300Mbps plan for $20 is a better value among cheaper plans.

What's the cheapest internet plan in Chicago?

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Chicago

The best internet deals and top promotions in Chicago depend on what discounts are available during a given time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers. 

Chicago internet providers, such as Xfinity and Rise Broadband, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Many, however, including AT&T and Verizon, run the same standard pricing year-round. 

For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.

How fast is Chicago broadband?

Ookla speed test data put the Windy City in the bottom 10 among the nation's top 100 most populous cities (at an inglorious 95th position). How slow? It chalks up a median download speed of approximately 135Mbps, over 100Mbps behind a top-five city like North Las Vegas. However, Chicagoans still have plenty of ways to get high-speed internet in their homes.

Your fastest option for getting online in Chicago is to go with a fiber provider, but service isn't available everywhere. AT&T is your best bet, with its fastest plan for Chicago ringing in with download and upload speeds of 5,000Mbps at a hefty flat monthly rate of $250. At almost all Chicago addresses, a cable plan with download speeds of up to 2,000Mbps and upload speeds of 200Mbps will be your fastest plan, which costs $150 a month with no data cap or contract.

Fastest internet plans in Chicago

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

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What's a good internet speed?

Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you're looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you'll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here's an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines -- and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.

For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.

• 0 to 5Mbps allows you to tackle the basics -- browsing the internet, sending and receiving email, streaming low-quality video.
• 5 to 40Mbps gives you higher-quality video streaming and videoconferencing.
• 40 to 100Mbps should give one person sufficient bandwidth to satisfy the demands of modern telecommuting, video streaming and online gaming. 
• 100 to 500Mbps allows one to two people to simultaneously engage in high-bandwidth activities, like videoconferencing, streaming and gaming. 
• 500 to 1,000Mbps allows three or more people to engage in high-bandwidth activities all at the same time.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Chicago

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information, drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites and mapping information from FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We use the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:

1. Does the provider offer access to reasonably fast internet speeds?
2. Do customers get decent value for what they’re paying?
3. Are customers happy with their service?

While the answers to those questions are often layered and complex, the providers that come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and also consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports.

To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.

What's the final word on internet providers in Chicago?

The Windy City has a lot of options when it comes to home internet, including both speedy and more affordable service. If you can get your hands on fiber connectivity, like AT&T Fiber, that will be your best choice. However, cable companies like Xfinity and Astound Broadband have wider coverage for Chicagoans, so you might have to go with those providers instead.

Internet providers in Chicago FAQs